Merging of the Souls
by Crocodile-Kuro
Summary: In a last ditch effort to ensure Kirigakure's survival, Mei Terumi uses a jutsu that'll change Sakura Haruno's life forever.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.**_

Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, was dying. She had successfully driven Zetsu away from the Feudal Lords, but she had sustained heavy damage. Medical support wasn't going to make it in time, so she prepared a countermeasure.

"Ch…Chojuro! Come here," she managed to say.

Chojuro, the lone member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, approached his fallen leader. "What is it, Lady Mizukage?"

"I…I know I won't…make it. I'm…trusting you t…to find my…new host."

"New host? What are you talking about?"

Mei Terumi pulled out a scroll from her belt. "I'm about to…cast a special jutsu. When I do…this scroll will disappear. It will show up…to the person who is best suited to house my soul. When that person opens the scroll, our souls…will be fused together. You have to find that person…after I'm gone. I'm counting…on you…Chojuro."

Chojuro, although upset at seeing his leader die, said, "Of course, Lady Mizukage. How will I know you?"

Mei said, "You won't, but…if all goes well, my new body…will recognize you and call you by name. Don't talk to anyone…until you've found me. My…new body…will probably be in another village. Look everywhere, understand?"

Mei Terumi then looked at the sky and shed tears. "If I have one regret in this life…it's that I never…got to marry someone…as great as you…Chojuro." With that she cast the jutsu. The scroll disappeared as the Fifth Mizukage drew her last breath.

(Six Days Later)

The Fourth Shinobi War ended with Naruto Uzumaki destroying Madara Uchiha and rendering Sasuke Uchiha unable to continue being a ninja. Sakura Haruno had just returned home from cleaning up after the battle. She fell down into bed and was starting to wonder what life would be like in the future when she noticed a scroll on her nightstand that she didn't remember putting there. She carefully put the scroll in her hand.

Sakura looked at the scroll for a while and thought, "I wonder what this is doing here. If this is some kind of prank that Naruto set up, he's going to get the butt-kicking of a lifetime."

Sakura then opened the scroll to read its contents and was met by a blinding light.

Inside her mind, Sakura could see a beautiful woman with long red hair and a voluptuous body wearing a blue dress that left her shoulders and a fair amount of cleavage showing walking towards her.

"Whose body is this?" the woman asked.

"Mine. I'm Sakura Haruno. Who are you?" Sakura asked.

"I am the spirit of Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage."

"I thought you had died a few hours before the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke took place."

"I did, but before I died, I left a way for me to continue my legacy: the soul scroll you just opened. Even as we speak, our souls are becoming one."

"Wait! Does that mean you're going to be taking over my body?"

"No, it's not that cruel. All that will happen is that your body will now be housing two souls instead of one. Everything about us will be at this new Sakura's fingertips: our chakra networks, our jutsu, our memories, and our feelings on certain topics. It will not be a take over, but rather a coexistence."

"Well, why pick me? I've got nothing interesting to offer."

"Don't sell yourself short, Sakura. You have an amazing talent for medical ninjutsu that most people, even professionals, would only dream of having. I think that's more important than having the strongest jutsu in the world. Besides, it wasn't my call. The jutsu I cast before I died sent this scroll to the person best suited to house my soul."

"So, how does this whole "merging-of-the-souls" thing work?"

"Simply put, you will remain in control of your body, but I will be putting in some small traits of my own so that both of us can live comfortably in the same body. I will remain in your subconscious and guide you through some parts of our new life that I am best suited for while you continue to live out your life."

"I guess I can live with that."

"Good. See you later, Sakura Haruno."

A flash of bright light surrounded Mei Terumi, causing Sakura to avert her eyes.

When the light receded, Sakura found herself back in her room. She looked in the mirror and immediately found some things were different in her appearance.

Sakura was wearing the same dress that the Fifth Mizukage wore in her vision, and it looked like she inherited her bust size, too. Sakura looked in the mirror for a long time before she finally got over the fact that she had indeed merged souls with the Fifth Mizukage.

Just as she was thinking this, the Mizukage herself appeared in the mirror and asked, "How do you like your new look?"

"I love it! It's different and will take some getting used to, but I've always wanted breasts like these."

Mei Terumi smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. Now listen closely, Sakura. You now have access to both our jutsu, meaning you can still perform your medical ninjutsu, but you'll also be able to perform my jutsu. In this way, you can be a medic and still be able to fight off any malevolent forces you might come across."

Sakura said, "Well, I can't wait to try it out."

Mei said, "There is one other thing. Kirigakure will be in need of a new leader. One of my best ninja, a young man named Chojuro, will be scouring the lands looking for you to take the mantle of leadership. Please, don't say no."

Sakura suddenly felt a little depressed. She was now going to be abandoning her own village to rule over a village that she hadn't even set foot in before. All of her friends would be out of her reach and her whole life would never be the same again.

"This is all too sudden, Lady Mizukage."

"Please, call me Mei. It's not like you need to be formal to me anymore."

"All right, Mei, but I still don't like this. My whole life is destroyed and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I understand if you don't want to take the title of Mizukage. I think you still have some time left before Chojuro arrives. Please, just think it over."

"There's no need. I have to accept the title. After all, you sent out the scroll to find a body that you can use to rule Kirigakure with, right? It would be selfish of me to not accept."

Mei looked down. "I'm sorry for forcing this on you, Sakura, but it's what I thought would be best."

Sakura smiled. "Well, what else can a Mizukage do? Now, until Chojuro arrives, I would like to get used to my new body. Would you mind helping me?"

Mei smiled. "Of course, Lady Mizukage."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.**_

One week passed since Sakura and Mei Terumi merged souls. Sakura had gotten used to using Mei's Lava and Boil-style Jutsu, while Mei was enjoying being young again.

Sakura was resting from a five-hour-long training session by a stream when Mei's image appeared on the water. "I can't believe how far you've gotten in your training."

Sakura smiled. "I know. I guess the soul-merging thing made it easier for me to adapt to your style. Anyway, I think I'm done with training for today. I'm ready to…"

"Sakura! There you are."

Mei's image disappeared from the stream as Sakura looked up to see Naruto Uzumaki heading toward them. When Mei laid eyes on Naruto, she couldn't believe how handsome he was. He had some quality about him that made him…likable. Nothing like the Jinchuriki she'd heard about from others.

"Wha…What do you need, N…Naruto?" Sakura stammered.

"I just saw some guy looking around the village. I want to ask him what he's doing here, and I'd like your support."

"Sure. Anything for you, Naruto."

"Great! Follow me." Naruto ran off with Sakura right behind him, a small smile on her face.

(Inside Sakura's mind)

"Mei, what are you doing? I didn't want to go with him."

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but he's just so…unique that I wanted spend more time with him."

"Look, those may be your emotions, but it's still my body."

"Our body, Sakura. You and I are one in the same now, in case you've forgotten."

"I can't believe how childish you're being. Fine. If you want to help Naruto with this, then by all means, take over. I'll take a nap."

"Really? You'd let me control your body?"

"Just don't get us killed or do something I wouldn't do, all right?"

"Okay."

(In the real world)

"Sakura, are you okay?" Naruto asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

Sakura's eyes blinked a few times. Mei, now in control of Sakura's body, smiled, wrapped her arms around Naruto's arm and said, "Oh, I'm fine, Naruto. Are we close?"

Naruto, though surprised at Sakura's attention right now, said, "Yeah, he's right over there."

Mei looked and saw someone familiar. Chojuro had made it to Konoha, so soon after Sakura mastered all of Mei's skills. She frowned as she realized the time Sakura had been dreading had come.

"It's okay, Naruto," Mei made Sakura say. "I know what he wants, and it isn't anything destructive."

Naruto asked, "How do you know?"

Naruto watched Sakura as she got up from her hiding spot and walk over to the strange man. Naruto thought that Sakura had been acting weird for the past week, ever since she got that new body and wardrobe. He wondered if this guy had anything to do with it. He remained hidden and observed the scene.

Chojuro sighed. He had been searching for nearly two weeks for his Mizukage's new host body and hadn't had any luck. This was the last place he checked and he was determined to find the Mizukage here.

Naruto watched as Sakura sat down next to the man and held his hand. "Thank you for following my orders, Chojuro," he heard her say. Naruto didn't like this Chojuro character and wanted to kick him out of the village right then and there for even talking to Sakura.

Suddenly, Naruto saw Chojuro kneel before Sakura and cry in joy. "At last, I've finally found you after two weeks of searching! I thought the jutsu didn't work, but now I see it did!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, Chojuro. I don't want anyone knowing about this yet."

"Knowing about what, Sakura?"

Mei turned to see Naruto heading towards the pair. She could tell Naruto was confused by the look on his face, but now she was saddened. She would have to say goodbye to Naruto forever to live in boring old Kirigakure again.

Chojuro reached to draw his weapon, but Mei raised a hand to let him know to not bother.

Naruto reached the pair and started asking questions. "Sakura, who is this guy and why did he treat you like royalty or some…"

Naruto was cut off when Sakura suddenly hugged him. He felt tears streaming down her eyes. She then looked him in the eyes.

"First of all, right now I'm not Sakura. I'm Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage."

Naruto cleaned out his ears and said, "Wait, could you repeat that? I thought you said you were a dead woman."

Mei sighed. "I didn't think that would work. Come with me, and I'll show you what I mean."

Mei led Naruto to Sakura's house, with Chojuro following. Hinata walked along the road and saw the group. Wanting to know what was going on, she joined the three as they gathered in Sakura's bedroom.

Mei drew in a deep breath and said, "Here goes nothing." Sakura's body then blinked a few times and looked around the room.

"Wait, what's going on here? How did I…Who are…Why…Mei, what happened?"

Mei's image appeared in the mirror next to Sakura, causing Chojuro, Naruto and Hinata to be startled enough to jump a little. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I needed to let Naruto know what was going on. Hinata's here because she's just as curious."

Sakura looked at Chojuro and said, "So I'm guessing this is the Chojuro you've told me so much about."

"Yes, he is. Sakura, the time has come for us to leave."

Naruto stood up and said, "Wait, leave where? Tell me what's going on!"

(Ten minutes later)

Naruto and Hinata sat in awe of what they had just heard. Sakura now housed two souls in her body and would soon be leaving to become Mizukage of Kirigakure.

Chojuro stood and said, "Sakura, are you okay with becoming Mizukage?"

Sakura stared down and said, "I hadn't planned on it, but Mei thinks it's best for Kirigakure, so I've got to go."

Naruto stood up and said, "That's not fair! You were forced to accept this, weren't you? That's really Mei talking, isn't it?"

Mei called out from the mirror. "I'm right here, you know. I told her all of this beforehand and she accepted it without my coaxing her. The least you could do is accept her decision and move on."

Naruto sat down, dejected. Hinata tried to comfort him, but couldn't think of the right words to say. Meanwhile, Mei stood in the mirror, ashamed of what she had yelled at Naruto.

Sakura turned to Chojuro and said, "Let's go to Lady Tsunade's office. She'll want to know of this. Naruto, Hinata, I believe you can let yourselves out."

Hinata led Naruto to his favorite ramen shop and treated him to whatever he wanted. Naruto didn't seem as hungry as he usually did, but it didn't discourage Hinata from trying to make him happy.

"D…Don't worry about it, Naruto."

"I'm losing one of my best friends, Hinata. I just can't get over that."

"I know how you feel, Naruto. Sakura's one of my best friends, too. But if it's her decision, what can we do?"

Naruto looked at Hinata and said, "We do the right thing."

(One day later)

Sakura sped behind Chojuro on their way to Kirigakure. Tsunade was convinced of Mei's plans and allowed Sakura to assume the title of Mizukage. Although it made Sakura depressed to have to leave her home, she did it for the good of Mei's home.

Mei talked to Sakura in her mind. "So, there's no turning back now. You're going to be named Mizukage first thing tomorrow."

Sakura said, "Yeah, I can hardly wait."

"You don't sound so happy about it. Of course, that's understandable. After all, I did pretty much force you to accept the role."

"That's not why I'm upset, Mei."

"Well, why are you upset, then?"

"Naruto…"

"Oh, I see. You were in love with him."

"Y…Yes, I was. I wanted to marry him soon after the war was over, but now…"

"You'll never get the chance because of you two now living in rival Shinobi villages."

"Yeah."

Chojuro suddenly stopped, which caused Sakura to ask, "What's wrong?"

"We're being followed. Get behind me, Lady Mizukage."

Sakura cringed at what Chojuro had called her. It was just another reminder that her life would never be the same.

Sakura then looked and saw Naruto and Hinata racing to catch up to her and Chojuro.

"There you are!"

Naruto landed right next to Sakura, with Hinata not far behind.

Chojuro pointed his Hiramekarei at Naruto and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto held up a letter. "Just delivering a letter to the new Mizukage."

Sakura took the letter and opened it. She and Mei read the letter in their minds.

"Sakura,

I hope you do well as Mizukage. I know how painful it is to be torn away from those you care about. That's why I wanted to spare you that same burden. I have approved a transfer of two shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, to reside in Kirigakure. With your permission, this transfer will be made as soon as possible.

Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure."

Sakura started to cry, but this time they were tears of joy. She showed Chojuro the letter, and he put his sword back in its scabbard. He then extended his hand and said, "Glad to meet you, comrade."

Naruto smiled and took Chojuro's hand, saying, "Likewise."

Hinata walked up to Sakura and told her, "Naruto asked for this, you know. He didn't want to be separated from one of his closest friends, so he begged Tsunade for that transfer. I volunteered to be transferred because I can't stand the thought of being away from Naruto. Please don't be upset at us."

Sakura wiped tears from her eyes and said, "I'm not mad; I'm actually very happy. Hinata, Naruto, thanks for sticking by my side and being true friends."

Naruto smiled and said, "Hey, that's what friends do: look out for each other. Now, come on. We've got to get you home."

Sakura nodded and Chojuro led her, Naruto, and Hinata to their new home, Kirigakure.

Mei was happy at this recent development. "So, Sakura, you've got a pretty good bunch of friends, huh? That's good. Cherish those friends, for they'll be your greatest allies in the years to come."


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters._  
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Three years have passed since Sakura Haruno accepted the title of Mizukage. Kirigakure went through a lot of changes, but no one seemed to really mind since they made the village more prosperous and give them less of a bad reputation. It would still be a while before Kirigakure would be acknowledged as anything but the "Bloody Mist Village", but Sakura was willing to work to get rid of that name.

Sakura's two closest friends, Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, were helping out Sakura in their own unique way during her reign. Hinata helped establish a new style of teaching at Kirigakure's Ninja Academy so that every applicant could graduate based on his or her own merits without having to kill anyone. Naruto in the meantime established himself as a liaison among the other four ninja villages so as to keep Sakura in the loop of what was going on outside Kirigakure.

Mei Terumi helped Sakura make her decisions from inside Sakura's mind. She knew how certain decisions had been made in the past and told Sakura how certain affairs in Kirigakure should be handled. Sometimes Sakura adhered to custom, but most often she would change the rules a bit. Mei would usually worry about such actions, but after seeing a lot of content faces from the villagers, she was happy Sakura was independent.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she signed the last of the papers that were piled on her desk this morning. Mei appeared in the mirror on her desk and asked, "All done?"

"Finally! Now I can relax at that new hot spring I've been hearing so much about."

"Well, about that, I have some things I'd like to take care of, so do you think it would be possible for you to take a little nap and let me take over your body instead?"

Despite the friendship they had forged since they merged souls, Sakura was still uneasy about letting Mei take control of her body. She would often do some crazy things. The last time she took over a year ago, she ended up marrying Naruto, and convinced Hinata to do the same. Now all three lived in the Mizukage's mansion and Hinata was expecting a baby for Naruto soon.

"I don't know, Mei. Last time you took over my body, I woke up in the honeymoon suite of a hotel with Naruto and Hinata on top of me. How do I know I can trust you to take over again?"

"Sakura, I swear this is strictly business. There'll be no surprise marriages or anything like that involved. Please? I've been planning this for a long time."

"Well…I could use a little more sleep. All right, Mei. Just make sure you keep your word that my life won't change any more than it has, and I want to be able to wake up by the end of the day."

"I promise," Mei said as her image disappeared from the mirror.

Mei blinked a few times before she confirmed that she had taken over. Not wasting any time, Mei went to the door and opened it. She saw Chojuro standing outside the door, protecting it from being broken into.

Chojuro saw Sakura and bowed. "Hello, Lady Mizukage. Checking out early?"

Mei put her hand on Chojuro's shoulder and said, "Chojuro, this is Mei talking. Have all the preparations been made?"

"Well, Naruto and Hinata are still working on decorations, but I think that in an hour, we should be ready, Lady Terumi."

"Perfect. That'll give me enough time to prepare my own little surprise for Sakura. Thanks, Chojuro. Now help Naruto and Hinata with whatever they need your help with."

As Chojuro went to help Naruto and Hinata, Mei went to a little patch of land just outside the Mizukage's mansion. She then used her Lava Style: Lava Globs jutsu to cover the land with hardened lava. She followed up with her Boil Style: Skilled Mist jutsu to slightly melt the lava into healthy soil suitable for planting all kinds of herbs. Mei then pulled out a bunch of seeds from her pocket and planted them in the soil.

After admiring her work, Mei checked the time. An hour had passed since she had taken over. "I think I've kept her waiting long enough. Sakura, you can wake up now."

Sakura blinked as she regained control of her body. She looked at the garden at her feet and asked, "Mei, is this what you were working on?"

"Yes," Mei said in Sakura's mind. "I remembered how troubling you found having to ask other villages for herbs to make medicine, so I decided to help alleviate the problem. The garden may not be big, but now you can grow your very own medicinal herbs."

"Thanks, Mei. I'll still have to borrow a few herbs, but I can borrow a lot less now. That was actually very thoughtful of you."

"I can be generous at times."

Sakura then went in the mansion to get herself cleaned up before going anywhere else. When she came to her mansion's main room, she found the lights were off. She didn't like fumbling around in the dark, so she turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!"

Sakura jumped a little after seeing Naruto, Hinata and Chojuro surprise her. She then looked around the room to see a lot of her friends from Konohagakure gathered there as well. Kakashi, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Sai, the other Konoha 11 and their senseis, even Shizune and Tsunade were there.

"What's going on here?" was all Sakura could say after seeing everyone.

Naruto smiled. "Well, it's been three years since you became Mizukage, and Hinata, Mei and I felt that there needed to be something special for the occasion."

Hinata stepped forward, carrying her baby belly, and said, "I…I thought it'd be a good idea to get our old friends together so we could catch up on a more personal level."

Sakura smiled and breathed a sigh of content. She then spoke to Mei in her mind. "You planted that garden to buy time for this, didn't you?"

Mei laughed. "Well, partly. I was serious about giving you your own medicinal garden, but I figured that catching up with old friends was more important."

Sakura wiped away tears from her eyes. "Thank you all, so very much. This means a lot to me."

Naruto went up and hugged Sakura. "This is all for you. I've even arranged it so that you can talk to our friends at least once a month from now on."

Sakura hugged Naruto back and cried. "This is the happiest moment of my life," she whispered to Naruto. She then looked to her friends and said, "All right, who wants to talk to me first?"

As Sakura talked with her friends, Mei smiled. "The future remains uncertain, but it's important to never forget the bonds of your past. You never forgot your friends, and you've shown your devotion to their memories through your decisions that made Kirigakure a friendlier place. Enjoy today, Sakura. You've earned it."

The End.


End file.
